Sweeney of Sun City tops Bathe for Hardeeville City Council

Gwyneth J. Saunders/Hardeeville TodayHardeeville special election candidates Michael Sweeney, left, and Paul Bathe shake hands following the candidate's forum held Tuesday at city hall. Voting will take place Nov. 15.

Sun City resident Michael Sweeney topped longtime Hardeeville resident Paul Bathe 374-84 in Tuesday's race for an open City Council seat. About one-third of eligible voters cast a ballot.

After the results were announced to the few assembled, Bathe shook Sweeney's hand and congratulated him.

"I wish Mr. Sweeney the best. I shook his hand and acknowledged him after the election," Bathe said Wednesday. "Nothing’s changed for me. I still live here and will continue to help people. I fell in love with the people when I moved here and I fell in love with the town. I’m not going anywhere. My prayers and blessings are on Hardeeville and its people and that includes Sun City ."

Sweeney said he was somewhat surprised at his win.

"In the back of my mind there was always that apprehension that I might be unsuccessful. But when I saw the number of people showing up to vote I felt very optimistic," Sweeney said. "The support from Sun City North and Hampton Point, which is off Argent Road, was fantastic. And I also noticed support from some of the Hardeeville precinct people."

Sweeney will be sworn into office Dec. 1 before the City Council meeting that evening.

The unofficial results, which will be verified by the elections commission at 10 a.m. today, counted 458 voters out of 1,543 eligible registered voters in three precincts.

In absentee voting, there were nine votes cast in the Ridgeland City Hall and 21 mailed paper ballots.

The largest precinct, Hardeeville 1, contained 931 registered voters, according to records on hand at the polls; according to the unofficial machine tape, results listed 175 votes cast with Bathe receiving 78 and Sweeney 96. There was one undervote, possibly indicating a ballot cast but no selection made.

The smallest precinct, Hardeeville 2, contains 48 registered voters; three votes were cast with two for Bathe and one for Sweeney.

Okatie precinct, the newest, has 563 registered voters; there were 251 ballots with 247 for Sweeney, three for Bathe and one undervote.

Sweeney will fill the remainder of the term which expires in May.

"What I want to instill is we are all one Hardeeville," Sweeney said. "I live 16 miles north of here. There is no new Hardeeville, no old Hardeeville. We're all in this together."

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